By Dipchand Bihari
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 4: The Biju Patnaik Renewable Energy Park, located at the foothills of Khandagiri, to educate public and create awareness on renewable energy technologies and system, has been turned into a community welfare centre. It now hosts marriage ceremonies and birthday parties.
The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) jointly funded this project. Over Rs 1 crore was spent to construct this park. OREDA also took charge of the development and maintenance of the park. However, officials of OREDA are now busy organizing ceremonies and parties in the park instead of exhibitions, competitions, seminars and other awareness-building activities.
According to sources, the park has a price list as well. Charges vary according to the occasion. Different ceremonies have different price tags. While a marriage ceremony costs Rs 10,000, one has to pay Rs 8,000 for a reception party and Rs 3,000 for holding a picnic in the park.
“Summer camp was used to be held here every year in the month of May. In this camp school children were introduced to various devices, conversion technologies, energy conservation methods and other practices. However, such camps have been stopped since 2007,” said PC Behera, an official of the park.
“Moreover, this park used to hold a state level programme, the Rajiv Gandhi Akshya Urja Divas, every year August 20. Above 200 school and college students from various districts participated in several competitions on renewable and non-conventional energy, but it’s now two years that has been stopped,” he added.
The park covers an area of about 3 acre. It showcases facilities meant for solar cooking, lighting, drying, water heating etc. It also has a solar energy drier, models of small hydro power generator, wind generator, biodiesel power generator, wave energy and geothermal energy.
A knowledge and information centre, which was set up for exhibiting ways and means of solid waste management, is yet to open. A solar swimming pool was built in the middle of the park, but it’s not functioning, the solar bike installed here is also lying defunct.
An attractive and informative interactive media centre and conference hall/auditorium had also been constructed on the solar passive architecture concept to screen films and organize meetings/conferences.
